The free-standing garage on Richmond Hill Road—widely considered an eyesore—recently was broken into, according to town officials.
Addressing the Parks & Recreation Commission at the group’s most recent meeting, Public Works Director Tiger Mann said as the building is unoccupied and empty, no theft took place.
However, the break-in resulted in a broken window, and the site attracts illegal activity, he said.
“It’s becoming that type of nuisance,” Mann said at the July 13 meeting, held at Lapham Community Center.
Though the town had looked into demolishing the building, officials found that lead paint had fused to the brick, meaning that it all had to be disposed of as a unit—an expensive proposition. Tens of thousands would have to be invested to ensure both that nobody is exposed to the lead paint and the asbestos is responsibly removed, officials said.
A recently formed committee that’s studying all non-district town-owned buildings also has weighed in recently on the fate of the disused Mead Park garage, located at the foot of Grove Street.
Years ago, preservationists working as the “Friends of Mead Park Brick Barn” had it listed on the state Register of Historic Places, resulting in a stay of execution.
“Nothing’s happened since then,” Mann said. “It’s just been laying fallow.”
Parks & Recreation Commissioner Sally Campbell added, “At some point, we need to make a decision. Somebody’s going to have to pay money to make it look nice, or we have to take it down. And it may just be a lot of money to take down.”
Several solutions were discussed at the meeting, including the possibility that the building could be acquired by the New Canaan Fire Department.
Police confirmed that they have documented the recent break-in.
When buildings look forlorn and abandoned, they invite kids, even adults to explore, hangout etc. it has been proven that if broken windows are fixed immediately, and graffiti is cleaned up immediately, both curious and bad people will stay away.
This is a cool old building. Perhaps NC could interest an resident/individual who would want to restore it in consideration for a long term low cost lease of the building. It has many possible uses.